Tit-for-Tat! Pakistan strikes 'terror bases' in Iran under Operation Marg Bar Sarmachar

LESS than two days after an airstrike by Iran killed two children in its territory that Tehran claimed was aimed at a Sunni militant group, Pakistan launched an attack to strike terrorist hideouts in Iran's Sistan-o-Baluchistan province bordering its own Baluchistan province.

Islamabad had warned Tehran of "serious consequences" following the attack.

The Pakistani foreign office issued a statement over the country's retaliation saying a number of terrorists were eliminated during the intelligence-based operation given the codename of 'Marg Bar Sarmachar' (death to terrorists). Iran's official IRNA news agency said nine people, including "seven non-Iranian nationals" were killed in the strike that targeted a village near Saravan, a city in Sistan-o-Baluchistan province. The victims included three women and four children, Iranian media reported.

Read: Pakistan recalls envoy from Iran after airstrikes, says it 'reserves right to respond'

Tehran on Tuesday had launched the attacks to aim what it called cases of the militant outfit Jaish al-Adl, Iran's state media said. Islamabad downgraded diplomatic ties with Tehran besides condemning the attack harshly.

Read: Pakistan condemns Iran airstrikes on its soil that killed two kids

Iran's attacks were part of a series of strikes that it conducted recently in countries such as Syria and Iraq as a response to recent terror attacks on its soil. These attacks have added more to concerns about regional stability in the Middle East, where a deadly conflict between Israel and Palestine's Hamas is currently underway.

The Pakistani foreign office's statement said Islamabad carried out a series of “highly coordinated and specifically targeted precision military strikes” against terrorist hideouts in Sistan-o-Baluchistan.

“Over the last several years, in our engagements with Iran, Pakistan has consistently shared its serious concerns about the safe havens and sanctuaries enjoyed by Pakistani origin terrorists calling themselves Sarmachars on the ungoverned spaces inside Iran. Pakistan also shared multiple dossiers with concrete evidence of the presence and activities of these terrorists,” it said.

“However, because of lack of action on our serious concerns, these so-called Sarmachars continued to spill the blood of innocent Pakistanis with impunity. This morning’s action was taken in light of credible intelligence of impending large-scale terrorist activities by these so-called Sarmachars.

“This action is a manifestation of Pakistan’s unflinching resolve to protect and defend its national security against all threats. The successful execution of this highly complex operation is also a testimony to the professionalism of the Pakistan Armed Forces.”

The foreign office also said that Pakistan's caretaker prime minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar, who is currently in Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum meeting, has decided to return home early due to the current situation.

Pakistan goes to national elections in February.